Human trafficking is modern day slavery and happening around the world with alarming frequency. Join RECOIL OFFGRID Editor Tom Marshall as he interviews a panel of experts on the front lines battling this epidemic to learn more about what it is, how it’s happening, and what you can do to protect yourself.
Our Panel: Bazzel Baz is a graduate of The Citadel, former Captain USMC, former CIA SAD/SOG Paramilitary Case Officer and founder of one of the longest running child rescue NGOs in the U.S. established in 1993, known as The Association For The Recovery of Children aka ARC. ARC is a non-profit consisting of former military, intelligence and law enforcement personnel dedicated to the safe recovery of missing, exploited, and trafficked American children. Thus far they have a 100% rescue rate in that every child they have gone after, has come home.
Bruce Ladebu spent 20 years as a professional adventurer, explorer, and guide traveling to some of the wildest places on Earth. Since then, Bruce has started a number of organizations and has advised leaders in many nations. In the early ’90s Bruce traveled through ex-Soviet Union countries and saw the terrible conditions children were forced to live in, including the marketing of young girls and boys forced into sex trafficking. Then in 2009, after witnessing labor slavery firsthand, Bruce worked to develop a strategy to rescue these individuals, and Children’s Rescue Initiative was formed. As of September 2020, Bruce and his teams have rescued over 2,300 children and adults from slavery and given them a start in a new life.
Theresa Flores’ incredible true story is of an all-American teenager who survived two years of being a sex slave while living at home in an upper middle-class Michigan suburb. Since her escape, she has helped rescue numerous missing children with her nonprofit The SOAP Project — Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution. SOAP’s Mission is to educate and bring awareness to human trafficking in the U.S., mobilize volunteers to rescue missing children being trafficked, and to help restore survivors of trafficking.
Yousef Badou is a former Marine Infantryman with multiple combat tours, and an industry leading expert in the areas of Situational Awareness and Behavioral Analysis. Founder of Emergence, Badou’s organization is the premier provider of subject matter expertise and consulting to increase organization’s situational awareness and pre-event threat detection.
Prime Day is here, and whether or not you were looking forward to the day Amazon blows open its metaphorical doors for the best deals this side of the Atlantic, we’re bringing to you some of the best, time-sensitive offers available on the site. Here’s the catch, though, you have to go through our page, that way they know we sent you there. It’s voting season, and we all know how the sayings go, people vote with their wallets. The best part is, good survival gear doesn’t care about how much you spent on it when it’s saving your life in a disaster, or from a bad day in the office. Stay tuned for the best Prime Day Survival Deals.
The only thing better than hearing protection when at the range, is hearing protection blasting the best Miley Cyrus, or Five Finger Death Punch, ironically of course. While one’s choice of music may be a joke, protecting your hearing is not, and take it from any veteran, tinnitus isn’t something we’d volunteer for again. The best part about these, however, is that they come standard with gel cups to go over the ears, which significantly makes them more comfortable and effective at saving those ear drums.
If you’re wearing ear protection, you should be wearing something to keep your eyes safe, especially at the range or when working on the latest DIY project in the garage. While there’s plenty of arguments that start with “what if this happens?” here’s an easy answer, decent eye protection isn’t that expensive, even less so on Prime Day.
A tent like this isn’t for a week in the Rockies, if you get to choose the timing. However, emergencies wait for no one’s clock, and arrive on their own time. When that is the case, ideal means what keeps us alive, and in the hierarchy of needs, during a blizzard or pouring rain, shelter ranks pretty high on that list. Easy to keep in a car or strapped to a bug out bag, saving your survival pack from being raided every time you take a weekend out at the lake, this survival tent is burning in as low as $16 during the sale. Make your move now.
Unless you’re riding out the apocalypse with a team of porters to carry your gear, chances are it’s a sleeping bag that will end up in your tent. But there’s more than one application and ideal location for a survival sleeping bag, particularly for those living in northern states that suffer frigid winters which can quickly turn a stuck car into a icy tomb. Take this opportunity to prepare for a winter that might be low on available first responders and pick up one of these for less than the price of a fancy cocktail downtown.
Turn that Hydroflask from its days as a Visco-Girl prop into something that can save your life with the LifeStraw Universal Water Filter Bottle Adapter, and for less thanks to Amazon. Food, Water, Shelter make up the vital triad, and taking running water for granted is a fatal error. This isn’t Ranger School, this is survival, and whatever you do, don’t go full Bear Grylls.
While a pack like this isn’t something we’d recommend for a long haul survival experience, desperate times have driven people to go further with less. At the same time, more affordable bags like this make for excellent vehicle-bound medical kits, and survival bags that provide the live-saving gear and peace of mind in the event that one has to escape a real bad situation to get home, or happens to be in the wrong place at the right time and can do some good. With an included hydration pack, these kinds of bags hold the kit you don’t mind loosing in the event that the whole vehicle and contents must be abandoned, as they can be replaced for a reasonable price.
To be clear, they might not be as cinematic as those ones that look like dynamite, but they’re 100% less likely to burn family members or start a forest fire as well. These road flares pack light and can be carried by the whole family to avoid being separated in the dark, and serve as not only a way to be found by first responders, but to mark a basecamp when exploring in the dark. Just remember, batteries not included.
The venerable Swiss Army Knife by Victorinox is coming in at 20% off, With multiple models to choose from, these still make sentimental gifts for growing adventurers. Useful in most places except an airport, take a walk into memories past, catch a look at 5 Surprising Uses for a Swiss Army Knife.
Up To 20% Off CRKT Knives
Save up to 20% on CRKT Knives Providing some the the best EDC knives that fit well between the lines of quality manufacturing and won’t-make-you-cry-as-you-dull-it-on-cardboard, CRKT knives have circumnavigated the globe in the packs of adventurers, kits of soldiers, and edc pockets of every-day people.
There’s no excuse to have to pull out an EDC pistol just to get access to a flashlight, and let’s remember, cell phone lights are convenience, not a replacement. As Streamlight’s hand-held and weapon lights continue to improve, their affordability becomes more and more attractive. This Prime Day sale, get them up to 26% off.
Human trafficking is a silent epidemic that affects millions of people worldwide. Threat-recognition and behavioral expert Yousef Badou recently interviewed Emily Chen, a competitive shooter and trainer on her experience being trafficked as a young girl. Watch the interview so you can better understand the telltale signs of trafficking to help better educate yourself and your loved ones on how to protect themselves.
On October 15, 2020, Recoil hosted a Human Trafficking webinar. It is an informative, and eye opening discussion between several experts in the field. Below you can find more info about what the webinar is about, and a link to the video available on Recoil TV:
Human Trafficking Webinar
Human trafficking is modern day slavery and happening around the world with alarming frequency. Join RECOIL OFFGRID Editor Tom Marshall as he interviews a panel of experts on the front lines battling this epidemic to learn more about what it is, how it’s happening, and what you can do to protect yourself.
Webinar Panel
Bazzel Baz is a graduate of The Citadel, former Captain USMC, former CIA SAD/SOG Paramilitary Case Officer and founder of one of the longest running child rescue NGOs in the U.S. established in 1993, known as The Association For The Recovery of Children aka ARC. ARC is a non-profit consisting of former military, intelligence and law enforcement personnel dedicated to the safe recovery of missing, exploited, and trafficked American children. Thus far they have a 100% rescue rate in that every child they have gone after, has come home. Recoveryofchildren.org
Bruce Ladebu spent 20 years as a professional adventurer, explorer, and guide traveling to some of the wildest places on Earth. Since then, Bruce has started a number of organizations and has advised leaders in many nations. In the early ’90s Bruce traveled through ex-Soviet Union countries and saw the terrible conditions children were forced to live in, including the marketing of young girls and boys forced into sex trafficking. Then in 2009, after witnessing labor slavery firsthand, Bruce worked to develop a strategy to rescue these individuals, and Children’s Rescue Initiative was formed. As of September 2020, Bruce and his teams have rescued over 2,300 children and adults from slavery and given them a start in a new life. thechildrensrescue.org
Theresa Flores’ incredible true story is of an all-American teenager who survived two years of being a sex slave while living at home in an upper middle-class Michigan suburb. Since her escape, she has helped rescue numerous missing children with her nonprofit The SOAP Project — Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution (www.soapproject.org). SOAP’s Mission is to educate and bring awareness to human trafficking in the U.S., mobilize volunteers to rescue missing children being trafficked, and to help restore survivors of trafficking.
Yousef Badou is a former Marine Infantryman with multiple combat tours, and an industry leading expert in the areas of Situational Awareness and Behavioral Analysis. Founder of Emergence, Badou’s organization is the premier provider of subject matter expertise and consulting to increase organization’s situational awareness and pre-event threat detection. Organizations rely heavily on planning for a response after an incident takes place and Emergence provides cutting edge consultancy on the prevention or disruption of these threats before they can come to fruition. With over 12 years experience, he has trained and certified over 6,000 Students and Instructors around the globe. He is routinely utilized by the FBI, Joint Regional Intelligence Centers, Overseas Advisory Council, and all levels of Military and Law Enforcement.
An extremist group attacks critical nodes of the power grid at 0100 hrs and you awake to mayhem on the streets. City-wide traffic backups are the first indication that this isn’t a typical summer brownout, but the danger is amplified when a five-ton improvised explosive device detonates in front of a Federal building at 0830, flattening the structure while killing 75 and wounding 150 other workers as they arrive to begin their day.
Your daughter is on her way to a college class when the traffic jams begin to pile up and the detonation occurs while your son is on the road after working third shift at a plant on the other side of town. It is impractical for them to attempt to return to your home.
Emergencies can, and will, strike when least expected.
While the police and first responders re-direct resources to the Federal building, another bomb detonates at the water treatment plant, effectively crippling the city’s water system. You could hunker down and withstand the chaos with your stock of supplies, but you decide it may be more prudent to temporarily relocate to a more secure area and ride out the current crisis occurring in your city.
While the police and first responders re-direct resources to the Federal building, another bomb detonates at the water treatment plant, effectively crippling the city’s water system. You could hunker down and withstand the chaos with your stock of supplies, but you decide it may be more prudent to temporarily relocate to a more secure area and ride out the current crisis occurring in your city.
RESPONSE
No matter how—or when—calamity strikes, it may be impossible for you and your loved ones, trusted friends and other members of your support network, to move as one single group to a place of safety.
It may be necessary for sub-units of your group to meet at an intermediate location, or rally point (RP), before completing the movement to a final safe haven. For continuity throughout this article, the abbreviation RP will be used, but the term “rendezvous point” or “link-up point” could also be used to describe the location. In fact, different militaries around the world use their own preferred term for what is basically a pre-planned location you have decided to meet other people at.
A perfect example of an RP is in the 2012 remake of the movie “Red Dawn. Characters Jed Eckert and his brother Matt Eckert swerve to a stop near their father, Spokane Police Sergeant Tom Eckert, who yells, “Get to the cabin!!!” This is a rapid response, quick decision that gets the characters to safety, while they whip up a plan to save their friends who were left behind. This is a simple example of an RP, but the sons knew what Tom meant when he told them to head to the cabin.
RPs can aid in getting everyone to the final safe haven.
You might be fortunate enough to have that cabin or campsite deep in the woods, or even your own pre-plotted island or sand bar you decide to use to just get away from people during a crisis. But your group still needs to get there and members might be coming from different directions, at different times, and possibly without the benefit of a means of communicating. RPs require prior planning, and it is best to follow the K.I.S.S. principle and keep everything as simple as possible. You might also be disoriented, fatigued or injured, which all raise the stress level and make normal tasks more difficult.
Keep it simple. Everyone in your group needs to know the RP plan.
This article aims to lay out the main issues for consideration when planning RPs. Take the bits and pieces that apply to your situation, terrain and capabilities, then incorporate them as part of your larger bugout plan.
RP locations must be known to all members of your party—preferably noted on maps, GPS devices, etc. Most importantly, accessing the RP needs to be rehearsed, both day and night. When the situation is critical, you don’t want to discover that members of your party can only visualize what the RP looks like in daylight, but were delayed during movement and are forced to try to reach it during hours of darkness, getting lost in the process.
Ensure all adult members of your party are situationally aware of planned RPs.
Avoid natural lines of drift (where humans are most likely to walk, drive, travel, etc.). It’s not wise to park in the middle of a crossroads while you wait for others to arrive. If you are trying to make yourself more visible to friends and family, you’ll also be more visible to people who are not in your circle of trust. The RP should be located away from these natural lines of drift so that you aren’t easily noticed by others. It may mean waiting in a thicket or close stand of vegetation that does not look like an obvious hiding spot.
Plan your RPs so that you access them by covered and concealed routes which limit others from observing you. Balance this with achieving clear lines of sight that allow for good visibility of the surrounding terrain. If you cannot find ground that offers cover (i.e. a barrier to protect you from say, hostile fire), at least get a minimum of good concealment. Camouflage mirrors, windows and windshields.
A security plan must be agreed upon and initiated by the first person(s) to arrive. They should make a visual inspection of the RP from a distance, to ensure it is safe to approach and not occupied by others who might mean you harm. Once the RP is reached, it must be physically inspected as well. Until that is done, the RP is not secure and you are not safe there.
You must be able to defend yourself, even if you only intend to occupy a RP for a short time before you start moving again. Select locations where you can exploit natural obstacles such as elevation, bodies of water or thick vegetation, to your advantage.
Never let your guard down. Security is critical at all times.
Develop a simple signal plan that allows for easy identification of friend or foe. The arrival of other members of your party can be the most dangerous phase of their movement to the RP.
Plan an emergency RP in case you discover, through scouting, that the original RP is occupied, or access is blocked. Simple contingency plans, such as “relocate 500 meters due north”, work best and may be easiest to remember. You don’t necessarily need to deviate to a follow-on RP that could be dozens of miles down the road. Remember, your strength is in numbers and you want your party to get together and move together, as soon as possible. WWII British commandos, operating behind enemy lines in North Africa, would often discover that the enemy were searching for them after they had raided a German or Italian-held port or airfield, and were sometimes parked right on top of the RP! They would avoid the enemy by moving to an emergency RP, then wait until the rest of their unit arrived, or time had run out and they needed to move back to friendly lines.
Establish a “no-later-than” timeline. If the RP is just a temporary place for a link-up before continuing movement as a larger group, you need a preplanned course of action (COA) if someone in your group does not make it to there within the agreed period of time. If your COA means you go looking for them, do it. If your COA calls for you to abandon the RP and keep moving, then keep moving. If you have planned them properly, you should already have a series of RPs marked along your route to safety. If you need to keep moving, there will be opportunities for other members of your party to join you at another RP, further down your route.
Everyone must understand when they are expected at the RP
Plan RPs for your bug out location as well, in case it is compromised while other members of your party are away scouting and you need to evacuate the location. If you do not have direct communications with them, warn the others by a pre-arranged signal that you leave behind.
Cache critical supplies at important RPs, like food, fuel or medical supplies; you may have picked up unexpected additions to your group. Despite our best plans, it happens. These cached supplies will be a buffer that allows you to get to your destination.
Modern military forces have successfully used rally points for well over a hundred years, allowing for units to gather at decisive locations on the battlefield. They require careful planning to be effective, but once the people you are protecting are familiar with how they fit into the bugout plan, they will increase your group’s safety, ease of movement and security.
What would make for a good RP? The center of the inhabited area, or on the fringe of town?
When we hear the term “survival knife,” we most often think of a large fixed blade of some type and not a folding pocket knife. Yet, the Buck 110 Folding Hunter may make you change that way of thinking.
The Buck 110 was a familiar sight for many years. Although it’s pocket-sized, it was mostly worn on the belt in a leather sheath secured with a single snap. Even those who know little about knives can recognize it immediately. It was worn by hunters, farmers, craftsmen, tradespeople, and anyone who had the need for a compact, sharp blade with a strong lock.
When a single model of any knife becomes synonymous with an entire company’s product line for decades, and inspires countless other designs (as well as blatant imitations), I’d say that qualifies as iconic.
History
The Buck 110 was designed in 1963 as a folding hunting knife. There had been a few knives of this type on the market, but none had really been successful, and Buck wasn’t exactly a new company at the time. They were well-known for their outdoor fixed-blade knives.
Above: The iconic Buck 110 Folding Hunter’s overall look became synonymous with the company.
Although they got their start in 1902, the company didn’t incorporate until 1961. A mere two years later they decided to introduce the first folding knife that was nearly as strong as a fixed blade. Buck rolled out their Unconditional Lifetime Warranty at this time, which was also unheard of for a knife manufacturer. Lastly, they priced their knives anywhere from $12 to $20. This wasn’t exactly a king’s ransom in 1963, but the typical field knife retailed for around $5 at the time.
Design
Credit must be given to the engineer who developed the locking bar on the Buck 110. It may look like a simple lock back, but it was designed to hold the blade in a solid position as well as release with minimal pressure applied to it.
The blade is a 3¾-inch clip point, similar to the classic Bowie knife but on a smaller scale. This is an interesting choice as it makes for a very narrow tapering point that’s critical for delicate cutting, and provides a slender tip for poking precise holes. The blade is robust enough to tackle anything from whittling stakes to skinning game.
Above: The Buck 110 Folding Hunter is a classic, rock- solid blade that has proven itself over the past 50-plus years.
As for steel, most Buck 110 Folding Hunters use 420C stainless steel. While some knife guys today may turn their noses up at this, 420C has proven to be very durable and corrosion-resistant. This has much to do with the exceptional heat treatment applied to the blades by the legendary Paul Bos, and a Rockwell hardness of 60. Still, if you want something more upscale, the Buck 110 can be had in S30V.
This classic design has two other elements that make it so iconic — namely, the distinctive front and rear brass bolsters and the ebony wood handles. When you see one, you know exactly what it is.
It generally takes two hands to open and close the knife, making it very safe and appropriate to give to a young person as a first-time knife. It uses a nail nick cut in the side of the blade, but some people install aftermarket thumb studs to modernize it. Back in the 1970s and 1980s it wasn’t uncommon for people to close the blade on a matchstick or toothpick in order to allow the knife to flick open more easily or open as it was drawn from a pocket.
Popularity Ensues
Despite its initial price being on the high side, the Buck 110 Folding Hunter took off like wildfire. Remember, this was in 1964 — the concept of a CNC-milled titanium frame lock was unheard of. This high-tension lock back with a very low-pressure release mechanism seemed like magic.
It was hard not to spot the distinctive black leather sheath of the Buck 110 on the belts of men almost everywhere and from all walks of life. Despite the rest of the company’s offerings, when you saw a Buck 110 Folding Hunter — in the sheath or outside of it — it was referred to as a “Buck knife.”
As with any popular design, other manufacturers and custom knife makers drew inspiration from it. The classic look of the knife with front and rear bolsters and inset hardwood scales became very influential on the cutlery industry. The downside of that was that there were a lot of imitations from overseas, most notably India, Pakistan, and Taiwan. These knives were cheaper and used inferior materials based off of reverse-engineered knives.
To this day, the Buck 110 Folding Hunter has always been Buck’s number-one seller and there are tens of millions of them out there.
The knife has undergone some small changes over the years. These aren’t readily noticeable to the average user, and they’re typically an improvement. However, the U.S.-made leather sheath briefly went to nylon and eventually back to leather due to customer feedback.
As a Survival Blade
Due to its relatively small size, the Buck 110 Folding Hunter fits that first commandment of survival knives: “Have a knife.” Whether it’s in its trusty leather belt sheath, a pocket, or a pouch on someone’s pack, it’s small enough to have with you whenever you need it.
We have left ours in a dedicated bag set up for hunting as a spare knife for years, and it has served well as a skinner, utility knife for cutting rope, and edged tool for other chores around camp. It may not be ideal for batonning firewood or quartering big game, but it can be done if it’s all you have available.
If there’s a drawback to the Buck 110 it’s that while the 420C blade is hard and tough, when the edge dulls it can be a bear to sharpen. We have had the best results with a Ken Onion Work Sharp sharpener set at a 20-degree angle and a medium-grit belt.
Inspirations
The Buck 110 not only influenced the look and feel of what was to become the modern lock-back folder from other makers but has inspired Buck’s own line of knives. Smaller versions, such as the Buck 112 with a 3-inch blade, have made the lineup as well as variants using different materials for handles and bolsters.
A fixed-blade version is available from Buck, but the company offers better fixed blades that can perform the same tasks. As fine of a knife as it is, this knife excels as a folder.
This fact wasn’t lost on Buck, either. It led to two lock-back descendants of the 110 Folding Hunter: the Buck 110 Auto and the Buck 110 Slim Pro.
Buck 110 Auto
Although I’m a self-proclaimed lifelong knife fanatic, part of me had felt that I had outgrown the Buck 110 Folding Hunter until 20 years ago when I saw an automatic conversion by the late Butch Valloton. Imagine the rock-solid lockup of a Buck 110 with an automatic opener — it seems like the perfect blend of old and new. It wouldn’t be long before Buck would make an automatic themselves based on this classic design.
Above: The opening button and lack of a nail nick are the only outward differences between the Buck 110 Auto and the Buck 110 folding knife that preceded it.
The first thing you notice is the distinctive silver-colored button on the handle, which compresses the spring and holds the blade closed when not in use. Press the button and the blade launches open from the side. You need to depress the lock bar to close it, but when it’s open there’s that rock-solid feeling of a fixed-blade knife in your hand once again. The only other things that set it apart are the hole in the blade where the auto mechanism keeps it closed, and the lack of the nail nick opener.
Buck 110 Slim Pro
By this point you might be thinking that the Buck 110 has a lot of great attributes, but the design is a little dated. Perhaps you think it’s more suitable for your father or grandfather who likes brass bolsters, hardwood scales, a belt sheath, a nail nick opener, or even a steel like 420C.
Above: The lighter weight of the 110 Slim Pro means that it can be carried via pocket clip as opposed to being worn in a belt sheath.
Buck recognized that too, and addressed it in their Buck 110 Slim Pro. They made the blade from S30V and added a thumb lug and a choice of either black G10 or tan or olive drab Micarta scales. Instead of a belt sheath, the knife is set up with a stainless reversible deep-carry pocket clip. They retained that clip-point blade and their lock-back system.
The end result is a stylish EDC pocket knife with modern materials based on one of the most proven folding blades ever made.
Inspirations
The Buck 110 Folding Hunter proved to the world that a safe and heavy-duty folding knife could be made well and priced reasonably. Tens of millions of these knives have rolled off their assembly line over the past 57 years, and it shows no sign of stopping. With a retail price of less than $50, this is an American-made iconic blade that everyone can easily afford to use as a daily work knife or emergency tool.
Anyone who has ever gone camping can attest to the importance of a steady supply of firewood. It’s always frustrating to run out of wood after dark, and if you’re in a cold environment, this can lead to dangerous frostbite or hypothermia. This is why we’ve often heard expert survivalists say to collect as much wood as you think you’ll need to make it through the night, then gather two or three times as much to be sure you won’t exhaust your firewood supply.
Unless you’re lucky enough to be surrounded by bone-dry deadfall, gathering all this wood usually means a lot of chopping and cutting. This is where a bushcraft axe comes in very handy. It provides the leverage and power you need to fell trees, and turn those trees into usable logs. Survival knives are useful for many tasks, but they simply don’t have the impact force to break down firewood as quickly as a good axe.
A Gransfors Bruk Small Forest Axe can be used with one or two hands. Photo: gransforsbruk.com
There are many types of axes on the market, so how can you choose the right one? More importantly, how can you use your axe efficiently, and without the risk of injury? Expert bushcrafter Ray Mears answers these questions in the following 5-minute video clip.
Mears’ advice about kneeling and using a block while chopping wood is especially important — the last thing you need during a survival scenario is a deep gash in your shin from an axe that glanced off or missed its mark.
What sort of bushcraft axe do you prefer? Let us know in this poll:
Look outside your window. What do you see? Are you staring into the windows of a 50-story high-rise apartment building? Are you looking at your neighbor’s suburban, perfectly manicured front lawn? Or perhaps you live more intimately with nature, deep in the heart of the forest.
Now imagine the rug of civilization has been pulled out from under you. It doesn’t have to be an EMP-induced nightmare, and you don’t have to be caught up in the throes of a civil war, localized rioting, or a political coup. It could be the chaotic destruction of a natural disaster, or simply an extended power outage. Are you confident that you can overcome the myriad obstacles an uncaring universe can throw your way? No matter what you’re feeling, by considering a worst-case scenario you can hone skills that have been ensuring the survival of the human race for thousands of years.
Above: You may assume that as long as you know what you need to survive — food, shelter, water, and so on — you’ll be able to handle anything that comes your way. But this is only a small part of a much larger picture. If you lack the financial means or the time of day to buy your safety with gear and supplies, or to develop the necessary skills you need to survive, it may leave you feeling overwhelmed. The solution to this dilemma is closer than you think and lies with those who have come before us: traditional knowledge.
Face-to-Face Education
A not so long time ago in a place not so far away, communities were savvy to the ebb and flow of the seasons, the abundance of gifts that the land had to offer, and the skills necessary to make it from one season to the next. We’re physiologically adapted to be in tune with our environment, and as tribes of humans made the change from hunting and gathering to agriculture, they settled into specific environments for the long term. Each new generation of human learned from the wisdom of their elders and discovered new ways they could adapt that wisdom to where they lived. This cycle of practiced wisdom and improvement was specific to where humans were living — this is what I mean when I use the term traditional knowledge. In other words, it’s something akin to collective fieldcraft.
Above: Knowing how to weave cordage from plants, and which plants to use, is an example of knowledge that used to be passed down through family and tribe.
Understanding a community’s traditional knowledge was expected of everyone who was a part of it to ensure their collective survival. Knowing which plants could be used as a source of food or medicine was crucial to the comfort and longevity of our species. Knowing what was edible or poisonous could keep you alive if your crops failed, or your livestock died. Cycles of the seasons took away sources of supply and introduced new ones.
Traditional knowledge isn’t restricted to indigenous people or ancient history. Today’s modern “traditional knowledge” looks more like knowing which area of town to stay away from to avoid trouble, or which dive bar to go to for information on local criminal elements. To get to the traditional knowledge that would help when the lights go black, we need only ask those who are slightly older than us. There are elderly people in every culture who remember what life was like without robotics and artificial intelligence. Even I can remember life before the internet or smartphones, which means that we’re not so far removed from becoming reacquainted with the teachings of the past. In fact, technology makes it easier than ever to rediscover the traditional knowledge of whichever region you’re living in.
A Matter of Perspective
If you’re able, I want you to go for a walk outside immediately after reading this article and see what’s around you. Actually see it. You may be surprised how much you go about your daily life ignoring things that may be of crucial importance in the future. Once you start paying attention to your environment, you’ll never view the world the same way.
When you go on this walk, it doesn’t have to be far, look down around your feet, on the sides of the roads, in the nooks and crannies of whatever is surrounding you. Did you find a blade of grass, or a weed growing in a sidewalk crack? Did you see a scrap of wood or metal which could be used to fuel a fire or reinforce a door? Can you spot a piece of trash that’s indicative of the type of person who normally occupies this area? In a survival scenario, keeping a mental library of these small scraps of information could pay surprising dividends.
Above: A “weed” found globally, the common dandelion has been a medicinal staple since ancient times.
To this point, let’s look at a “weed” found all over the northern hemisphere that has been the bane of lawn-care professionals for decades: the dandelion. Not only are the leaves edible and often used in mixed salads — a practice that was especially common during the Great Depression — but its roots contain a chemical that’s useful to treat many physical ailments. Drinks like tea and wine can also be made from parts of the dandelion. Nature is providing this source of food and medicine free of charge, while many backyard grass enthusiasts go to great lengths to destroy it.
Things are growing in parks and in roadside ditches that all have useful properties and could be used in a pinch to alleviate an ailment, or just make life a little more enjoyable. Anyone who has been forced to live through hard times knows just how much of a morale booster something simple can be. (Note: Do not consume or use anything that might be contaminated with toxic chemicals. You wouldn’t want to consume plants that may have been treated by harmful herbicides or insecticides. Even the simplest of mistakes can be fatal when you don’t have access to modern medical care.)
Respect Your Elders
Not surprisingly, many of us living in Western cultures are largely ignoring our best source of traditional knowledge — our elders. My grandmother was in her 20s when the Great Depression was ravaging the United States. She lived well into her late 90s and didn’t survive for that long because she was wealthy. She lived by the “waste not, want not” creed. When I was young, I thought it seemed ludicrous that she refused to conform to our modern disposable society.
Sealable freezer bags were cleaned and reused, animal fat was eaten like a condiment, any type of container was saved for possible future use. Her behavior makes perfect sense knowing what I know now. If I had the frame of mind when I was younger, I’d have thoroughly picked her brain to learn what techniques she used to thrive in an era when other people starved waiting in bread lines for days — all while she was raising four daughters and a plethora of grandkids.
Entire generations of survivors of disasters past are still around. They’re a profoundly useful source of information, because they didn’t grow old making fatal mistakes. There’s an old adage that says, “A wise man learns from his mistakes, but a wiser man learns from the mistakes of others.” We don’t have to reinvent the wheel, fix what isn’t broken, or waste our precious time making mistakes that could be avoided. Sooner or later, history tends to repeat itself, so it’s wise to learn from those who experienced it the first time around.
Study Your Forebearers
Another source of traditional knowledge making a resurgence is how indigenous peoples lived before colonialism spread throughout the world. It’s sometimes difficult to imagine how the world looked without our modern amenities. Today, we have robots on assembly lines feeding the consumer way of life; however, in the not-so-distant past, there were groups of people living off the land and trading with neighbors for things they couldn’t produce themselves. Nature was revered, and indigenous cultures lived for thousands of years adhering to a lifestyle of sustainable reciprocity. These cultures are finding their heritage fading and members of these communities have recently begun maximizing efforts to preserve the ways of their ancestors.
Above:Even modern urbanization is built on the foundations of our past. Our civil engineering developments are based on skills passed down through generations.
Indigenous cultures throughout the United States often hold workshops for those who have traditional knowledge to share the important historical practices of their culture. Where I live in upper Michigan, the Ojibwe Anishinaabe will occasionally teach anyone who cares to listen how to find and prepare wild rice from the lakes, build birch bark canoes, and even how to produce syrup from sugar maple trees. These events are almost always free and open to the public. It may be the case that you find yourself in a location that lacks public opportunities such as these. Sometimes, as the flame of traditional knowledge flickers in the winds of advancement, we must find creative ways to learn and preserve the wisdom of the past. With nearly unlimited access to vast stores of information, web archives and YouTube video demonstrations may be the best way to keep our traditional knowledge alive.
A Solid Foundation
Nothing is more comforting than knowing that if the lights go out, the water stops flowing from your faucet, or the last bit of cold air dissipates from the freezer, your acquired wisdom will see you through. Used in conjunction with modern gear and skills, traditional knowledge can help alleviate the fear that comes with an uncertain future. It can protect your friends and family and make you a boon to your neighbors. Go out and start learning what it takes to live without the modern crutches we’ve propped ourselves up with. Use traditional knowledge to learn to walk with your own two legs again.
About the Author:
Patrick Diedrich, a retired U.S. Army veteran, holds a master’s degree in forestry, a B.S. in computer information systems and has a career background in combat reconnaissance and human resources. He has assisted in the recovery efforts of several catastrophic natural disasters and is the owner of Hemlock and Birch Environmental Services, a forestry and land management company in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Did you ever think that Sigmund Freud would be found in the pages of RECOIL OFFGRID? Freud is often cited as the originator of the pleasure/pain principle. This principle suggests that we’re born into pleasure and avoid pain at all costs. The problem is that we don’t always have control over pain. And when it comes to pain management, there can be all kinds of shades of gray as to how it feels and how we respond to it. Our mindset is probably the most important factor in dealing with both acute and chronic pain. Tools, such as medication, are also helpful in easing pain.
The Psychology of Pain
Everyone handles pain differently. Pain management has both a physical component and an emotional component. Physical pain can be different from one individual to the next because of our different genetic makeups. The emotional component also varies based on past experiences associated with pain. The patient’s perspective of their experience is different than my perception of their pain. This is what makes treatment of pain difficult as a physician.
I think that understanding the patient and their past experiences is the key to understanding how they handle pain. Some people will be tough as nails and work through pain and injury to complete their mission. Others will crumple on simple tasks, because they don’t mentally handle their pain well. About half of the treatment of pain is listening and understanding the patient’s perception of what the pain is and how it debilitates them. The other half of treatment is creating a plan that gives the person hope for a better tomorrow.
Above: Even those who exercise regularly and eat well can often experience sudden pain. Don’t be cavalier about it. Over-exerting yourself with the assumption that it will “just go away” may make a bad situation worse.
In order to work through pain, it takes some mental fortitude on the patient’s part and some words of encouragement from everyone else. Understand that there’s a diference between pain and injury. Pain is something you can mentally work through and overcome temporarily to complete your mission. Focus on anything besides what’s causing the pain, and you’ll succeed. Take one step at a time. Sing one song at a time. Pick a landmark ahead and focus on reaching that goal. Pain will want to draw you back to giving in to it, but fight on. However, an injury may need to be addressed before continuing on with the mission. Maybe you lacerated your leg on a rock, and it needs attention. Maybe you fell and broke a bone. Perhaps you need to fashion a splint (check out Dr. Joe Alton’s article “Medical Improvisations” in Issue 36 of RECOIL OFFGRID). Treat the injury to the best of your ability.
Inflammation
We almost all recognize inflammatory pain. That throbbing, aching sensation that limits mobility, especially in a joint, can happen in any scenario. When an injury occurs to tissue, the body increases blood flow to the area. The blood carries cells from your immune system to help repair any damage. The area of concern becomes red and warm to touch due to the increased blood flow. Along with the blood comes increased swelling, from the by-product of what the inflammatory mediators are doing to the affected tissue. The pain comes not only from the injury and damaged tissue, but also from the swelling within the tissue. This is your body’s way of trying to keep you from further injury by making you limit your activity.
You may be familiar with the RICE mnemonic that was introduced by Dr. Gabe Mirkin in 1978. It has long been a standard procedure for acute musculoskeletal injuries. Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation were thought to be important in the first 24 to 48 hours of injury. The idea behind rest was to prevent further injury. Ice, compression, and elevation were to be used to decrease the amount of swelling in the injured area. Recently, there have been arguments against this model, including from Mirkin himself. He has suggested that rest and ice may not be the best after all and that this treatment slows healing. He now advocates for movement, and no ice, for the acute injury. Just stick to compression to limit swelling and elevation to help the blood flow return to the heart.
When should an anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen or naproxen be used? Well, that depends. If you want the damaged tissue to repair itself in a natural fashion, then don’t use an anti-inflammatory. The tissue will take time to heal, though, and you may not be able to afford that time in a bug-out situation. If, on the other hand, you need to move through the pain, you could take the medications as needed. Anti-inflammatories work well with acute pain. When there’s no pill to take, you could forage for wild onion or garlic. These have anti-inflammatory properties and also boost your immune system. You might be lucky to find a willow tree. The inner bark contains salicylate-like properties, which will act like aspirin. The downside is that these options won’t be as potent as ibuprofen, but they may provide some relief that allows you to get back to safety.
Neuralgia
When pain comes from the nerve, it’s called neuralgia. Neuropathic pain can be elicited centrally or peripherally. When peripheral pain occurs, it can be due to lack of blood supply to the nerve (e.g., advanced diabetes) or metabolic deficiencies (e.g., vitamin B12 deficiency or thyroid hormone deficiency). This usually occurs in a fairly chronic setting and isn’t an acute event. It can feel like a numb sensation or no sensation at all. It may also feel like a tingling sensation. When the pain comes from a central location, it can be something pressing on a nerve near the spinal cord (e.g. tumor or intervertebral disc) or something that severed the nerve (e.g. trauma). The pain can be mild and consist of a pins-and-needles sensation, or it can be severe like an electric shock or burn that doesn’t go away. This can be seen in both an acute setting as well as chronic, as in a bulging intervertebral disc.
Above: Above: Pain can be influenced by any number of factors, including age, activity level, pre-existing injuries, and heredity, just to name a few. If the onset of pain doesn’t improve with rest or is accompanied by other problems, seek immediate medical attention.
In a survival situation, the more common causes of neuralgia are from trauma. If you inadvertently cut yourself with an edged weapon (acute peripheral neuralgia) or fall from an elevated position and injure your back (acute central neuralgia), the solution to improve your situation isn’t easy. In the event of a severed nerve, you first need to stop the bleeding associated with the injury. The nerve will likely retract, and if there’s no immediate attention, there could be permanent damage and loss of function. Depending on which nerve is cut and what muscle it’s associated with, movement to safety may be a challenge. If your back is injured to the point where a disc between the vertebrae has been “slipped” or even herniated, the fix isn’t a quick one either. This too could affect mobility and, ultimately, your safety in a survival setting. Keep in mind that with the trauma you’ll also likely have musculoskeletal injury, which will hinder movement.
In a hospital setting, with a back injury, a combination of muscle relaxers, narcotics, and steroids (or anti-inflammatories) would be ideal. In this case, an anti-inflammatory would be needed due to the severity of inflammation and lack of mobility. The muscle relaxers would help with mobility by lessening the pain of muscle spasms. The narcotics are great for severe and acute pain management, but should not be used for chronic conditions. People tend to build a tolerance to narcotics, so the longer they’re used, the less effective they become. Some people are so afraid of their chronic pain that they depend on their narcotics as a crutch rather than face their fears associated with the pain. This situation has contributed to the “opioid crisis.”
Marijuana’s Role in Pain Management
The “wacky tobacky,” as my uncle used to call it, has been used for thousands of years for its medicinal properties. The popularity in the past few years in the U.S. has likely centered on revenue more than around healing potential. However, I’ve had many patients try it for chronic pain with good success. I don’t believe that it has been shown to help with acute pain.
Above: Various glass bottles with CBD oil, THC tincture and hemp leaves on a marble background. Copy space, mockup. Cosmetics CBD oil
Although there’s ongoing research on the use of marijuana for pain relief, there isn’t much known about why it works. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is something in our body that naturally produces some amounts of cannabinoids. The ECS seems to be involved in helping with pain management, inflammation, appetite, anxiety, sleep, mood, and many more aspects of our body’s homeostatic mechanisms. Whether our body produces it naturally, or we consume it in the form of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) or CBD (cannabidiol), we have two known receptors in our body where it has its effect. The CB1 receptor is generally associated with the central nervous system and helps with pain. The CB2 receptor is generally associated with the peripheral nervous system and helps with inflammation. Understand that these are huge generalizations and that each receptor likely has other roles as well.
In my professional experience, THC has been extremely helpful in people with chronic pain management and cancer. I’ve seen people reduce the amount of narcotics they consume once they switch to marijuana. I’ve also recommended it for patients with cancer who’ve lost their appetite. It has been really good at boosting their appetite to get them through their chemotherapy treatments. The downside of lighting up is the possibility of a fast heart rate (tachycardia), anxiety, paranoia, and cyclic vomiting syndrome. Many states now have medical marijuana dispensaries that are controlled by the government and filled with red tape.
CBD, usually in oil form, works a little differently than THC, and its mechanism of action isn’t completely understood. I’ve seen people use this with great success on chronic inflammation. It doesn’t work with acute pain management at all, in my professional experience. The downside of using CBD oil is its expense and the amount of time it takes to start working, often weeks.
Pain is a poorly understood phenomenon. Understanding the difference between pain and injury can get you through a difficult and traumatic situation. Knowing basic medical treatments can be helpful in stabilizing the injury. To treat pain properly, it helps to know what type of pain source you’re facing. The medications can then be directed accordingly. Keep in mind, in an austere setting, you may need to be creative with your treatments. The more you know about herbal medicine, the better prepared you’ll be to offer assistance. Remember that pain management is also a mental challenge, especially in a remote location. Stay positive and break things down to manageable tasks. If you have chronic pain, the challenge is overcoming the demons that prevent you from moving forward. An acute injury on top of chronic pain can seem impossible to overcome, but you can do it. Take baby steps and keep moving!
David L. Miller, DO, FACOI, is an internist in private practice for 20 years. His experiences away from the office have included time as a fight doctor in regional MMA events and as a team physician for 10 years at a mid-major university in the Midwest. Currently, he serves as the lead medical instructor for the Civilian Crisis Response team based out of Indianapolis.
WARNING:
This article is meant to be a general overview and is not a replacement for medical advice or training. Consult with your doctor before attempting any of the techniques described here.
Unless you’re one of the fortunate few who gets to work from home every day, you probably work in an office, out in the field, or at some other remote location. I work approximately 14 miles from my house, and am lucky that between myself and home is my wife’s office and my children’s school. I like to think of these places as “checkpoints” along my route. In the event of an emergency that doesn’t allow me to drive to these places, I have the plan of walking or borrowing a bike. For this every day scenario, the Vertx Gamut 2.0 makes the cut for an escape pack to get us home.
The contents of this bag are designed to help me along the way, where I’ll be traversing a multitude of environments that include large agriculture fields, trailer parks, subdivisions, and industrial complexes. All these spaces are taken into consideration for ease of movement, potential resupply points, and possible threats. Route planning became an important aspect of this with several alternate routes. The shortest distance is the last leg, where I’d have children in tow.
The Pack
The base of the kit is a Vertx Gamut 2.0 Backpack in gray to maintain a lower profile in the urban jungle. At 25 liters, the backpack is just the right size to not overload myself and to keep some maneuverability. The straps are comfortable for long-term wear, and there’s a waist belt. The thin waist belt offers little in weight management, but will keep the pack from bouncing around during strenuous movements. I also prefer a pack that has a decent amount of internal organization, and this one delivers. Completed, this backpack kit weighs 22.2 pounds. Usually the pack sits in the back of my SUV, so its compact size is a plus for other cargo considerations.
Stuffing the Vertx Gamut 2.0
Externally, both sides contain water bottle pockets. These are left empty — instead, I use the pouch directly behind them to keep two 700ml Smartwater bottles (one per side). Keeping the bottles inside the pouch helps prevent them from falling out and the backpack from being too wide. Within the back panel is an empty 50-ounce CamelBak bladder that can be filled along the way. The top pocket has quick-access items that include spare prescription glasses, wrist-mounted GPS, Gorilla tape, and a headlamp. Lastly, the front compartment has a small lightweight shelter kit containing a Bushcraft Outfitters 10×7-foot tarp, four aluminum tent stakes, and varying lengths of 550 cord.
Internally, the pack has a few zippered pockets and is mostly lined with loop Velcro. I affixed a Blue Force Gear Ten Speed Triple M4 Mag pouch to the top to keep more items close at hand without having to open up the entire bag. This includes a spare Glock 9mm 24-round magazine and a Yaesu FT-60R handheld ham radio (yes, I have my license). The radio has a small antenna and a large slim-jim antenna nearby. In the middle is a SOF-T tourniquet. Opposite in the pen pouches is a Leatherman tool, glass breaker, Sharpie marker, and lighter.
The inside portion has two small zipper pouches that include spare batteries, zip ties, ExoTac Rip Spool, sillcock key, small mirror, notebook, and a Southord PXS-14 lockpick set. The lower pocket has wet wipes and an Aquamira Frontier Pro water filter. This filter works in conjunction with the Smartwater bottles and CamelBak bladder to keep me hydrated while on the move and resupply from the river or using the Sillcock key at commercial buildings.
In the main bag compartment is:
First aid kit (booboo kit)
Vortex Solo R/T 8×36 monocular
Snowpeak cook set with fuel, spork, and mini stove
1 serving Mountain House Mac & Cheese
Compressed toilet paper in Ziploc bag
Food bag (trail mix, granola bars, candy, etc.) — all contents are kid-friendly and can be eaten while on the move
The bottom of the main compartment houses a waterproof bag with a hard-shell jacket, spare socks, shemagh, and work gloves.
ESEE Knives PR4
Closing Thoughts
This bag is meant to sustain myself for movement to my wife, then to our children on an abnormal workday. It supplements my first line of gear carried on my body — Glock 19, pocketknife, bandanna, ankle trauma kit, and SureFire Stiletto flashlight. The radio is for the link-up between my wife and myself, as her bag has a similar one, as well as listening on the local stations for more information. The radio battery is checked weekly during the local net call.
The loaded bag is a comfortable weight for either my wife or myself to carry individually for the entire trek, in the event that we need to switch out the load. The purpose of three water storage items is to be able to drink on the move and have the ability to hand a bottle to my wife or the children without needing to stop. The included on-the-go snacks are mainly for the kids, but all are high in sugars, and Mountain House Mac & Cheese is their favorite in case we get stuck somewhere for an extended period of time and are able to boil some water with the small cook set. Having desirable snacks, such as candy, makes for a good bribe to keep the kids quiet and moving.
Overall, the Vertx Gamut 2.0 and contents are no-frills and are meant to sustain me, my wife, and two children for a day-ish-long hike, over not-so-difficult terrain. The children’s school is the closest checkpoint to the house at 5.5 miles. It’ll be slow moving with them in tow, but the gear we have will make it somewhat easier. Still, route planning, physical fitness, and family communications are the most important elements in our plan to make it home safely.
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Above: The lighter weight of the 110 Slim Pro means that it can be carried via pocket clip as opposed to being worn in a belt sheath.
